The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to thermo-mechanical turbines, and more particularly to a system and method for reducing bucket tip losses.
Performance and efficiency of thermo-mechanical turbines, such as gas or steam turbines, is desirably improved by reducing losses in the thermal to mechanical energy conversion that occurs when high pressure gases (and/or fluids) are applied to turbine blades or “buckets” to cause mechanical rotation and energy output. Such losses often occur due to leakage past the buckets through clearances between the bucket tips and surrounding stationary components (such as shrouds, housings, etc.), which results in undesired pressure mixing and vortex flow generation. Reducing these “over-tip” and “tip-vortex” losses is particularly challenging for unshrouded bucket tip configurations, which are often used in one or more stages of turbines.